WorldNetDaily Invokes Islamophobia To Bash Gallup Survey Of American Muslims

WorldNetDaily spent the 9-11 anniversary weekend mocking and bashing a Gallup poll of American Muslims by questioning the poll's motives and attacking the head of the Gallup division that conducted the poll.

The September 10 article by Michael Carl, carrying the sneering headline "Guess who thinks they are the victims," began:

A new poll taken by Muslim interests says members of the belief system as a group have faith in the honesty of American elections and they by an overwhelming 93 percent majority say they are loyal to the U.S. And the results claim that while they face a lot of discrimination, they are tolerant of others.

Then the poll reveals what Muslims believe the U.S. must do to make them feel more a part of America.

But where's their opinion about Shariah law in the United States, and just exactly what do they think the Quran says about "infidels?" And why does a "poll" tell the U.S. government and its citizens what they should be doing?

But a pollster offering conclusions based on its polling is hardly out of the ordinary -- WND's own pollster, Fritz Wenzel, does this as well. For instance, a recent WND/Wenzel poll claiming opposition to "open homosexual behavior into the U.S. military" prompted Wenzel to opine, ""As gay activists target specific segments of American society -- education and the military – to promote acceptance of their lifestyle and agenda, Americans oppose such actions. ... After the strong rebuke in the 2010 midterm congressional elections, Democrats face another dramatic defeat if these issues reach a prominent position in political races next year."

After noting that the survey was conducted by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center, which is headed by Dalia Mogahed, Carl wrote: "Mogahed has been identified by Muslim reformer Tarek Fatah during a recent speech in Toronto as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in a position to influence President Barack Obama's policy." But in the WND article Carl cites in support of this claim, Fatah offers no evidence to back it up, asserting only that Mogahed "writes (Obama's) speeches" and "comes from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt."

Mogahed has been a target of right-wingers for her status as an Obama adviser, and WND founder and editor Joseph Farah once declared, "I call her toga head." Given that she moved to the United States with her parents from Egypt when she was 5 years old, any link she purportedly has to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is questionable at best.

Carl then brought in anti-Muslim activist Robert Spencer to attack the survey for supposedly using biased questions that are somehow coded so that "Muslims are sure to understand" how to answer them:

"They asked questions Muslims are sure to understand what they need to give as the answer to present the best front possible," Spencer said. "But they don't get to the heart of the matter on whether they want Shariah in the United States ultimately. That's not to say they would get honest answers if they did ask those questions.

"In any case, they're not asking the right questions to start with. They're asking questions that are tailored to give the picture of a Muslim community that is much more moderate than it really is," Spencer said.

Spencer was recently identified by the Center for American Progress as one of the biggest promoters of Islamophobia in America, and his work was cited numerous times in the manifesto of accused Norway massacre perpetrator Anders Breivik.

WND has long been a promoter of Islamophobia, most prominently demonstrated these days by its publication of anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller's new book, Stop the Islamization of America.

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President-elect Donald Trump has picked -- or considered -- nearly a dozen people who have worked in right-wing media, including talk radio, right-wing news sites, Fox News, and conservative newspapers, to fill his administration. And Trump himself made weekly guest appearances on Fox for a number of years while his vice president used to host a conservative talk radio show.